Gordon Fails to Revive Sinking Pistons

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Already 53 games into the season, high-priced Ben Gordon still is trying to figure where he fits.

It's been that kind of a year -- confounding -- for the Detroit Pistons.

The signing of Gordon as a free agent last summer -- for five years and $58 million -- was supposed to be the first big step toward quickly rebuilding a proud franchise, avoiding the bottom of the NBA.

It's like he never arrived.

It's like Wednesday night in a 116-91 loss to the Magic, a team the Pistons used to own.

Gordon was ejected with just six points midway in the fourth quarter for a pair of technical fouls. He was irate over being slapped in the face by J.J. Redick -- who was driving toward the basket -- and no foul was called.

A few minutes earlier at the other end, it was Gordon who was called for an offensive foul in a similar play. He was furious, frustrated, and refused to walk away.

Instead, he was tossed, hardly factoring into another loss. Before he left, he had three fourth-quarter turnovers. He also needed three stitches under his eye to close a cut sustained earlier under the basket.

He declined to comment after the game.

"The whole thing has been frustrating, real frustrating,'' Gordon told FanHouse before the game. "But you just hope you can use it as a learning experience moving toward the next season.''

The Pistons (19-34) are headed toward their worst season in 15 years, but they were uncomfortably quiet on the eve of the trading deadline because there were no trades to make. They are pinning their hopes now on future drafts that may take years to produce.

After six consecutive trips to the Eastern Conference finals (2003-08), they thought they had hit bottom last season (39-43). They never thought things would get worse, not after signing Gordon and free-agent forward Charlie Villanueva (five years, $39 million). But they have.

"I came here knowing it was a rebuilding year, but I still expected us to shock some people and win some games,'' Gordon said. "I thought it would be a different kind of season.''

Gordon has missed 19 games with injuries -- first a sprained ankle, then a strained groin -- leaving him out of sync and mired in the worst season since he was a rookie five years ago.

He is averaging just 15.5 points and 2 rebounds, a long way from the last couple years in Chicago, and a long, long way from the thrilling performance he had last spring in Chicago's near-upset, first-round playoff series against Boston. It's when he averaged 24.3 points, and started the bidding war for his services as a free agent.

Yet his scoring, his field-goal percentage, and his three-point shooting all have taken a dive from last season when he became a 20-points-a-game scorer.

"Maybe it would have been a different story if we were healthy, but you play the cards you're dealt,'' Gordon said. "Right now, I'm trying to find a groove, a niche. I still feel like I'm trying to establish myself again.''

In four of his last six games, Gordon has scored fewer than 10 points, but that was nothing like his performance in an early-season loss to Dallas when he hit just one of 16 shots, missing all six 3-pointers.

The Pistons roster has been riddled with injuries throughout the season. Richard Hamilton missed 27 games. Tayshaun Prince missed 32 games.

Villanueva has been inconsistent. He played only three minutes Wednesday before he was yanked. Their best front-court player has been aging Ben Wallace, who rejoined the Pistons with a one-year, minimum salary.

"No question, we've underachieved this season,'' Gordon said. "You just hope to start putting together some games that you can build on. At this point, you do what you can.''